Vash definitely did not expect a girl to fall from the sky right in front of him.
Making it his responsibility to find her a place to stay and to maybe uncover some of her lost memories and mysteries on the way, he lets her tag along. But things always go wrong for Vash the Stampede and she stays in his presence far longer than anticipated.
How is he supposed to handle the friendship they soon start to share?
Updates: Mon/Fri every week
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Chapter 1 - Making wishes on shooting stars- wait. Is thAT A GIRL?!
Vash just wanted to eat his sandwich, when the bandits rolled into town.
He sat at one of the tables the shop had set up outside at the edge of town, when the car drifted around the corner. Some really ugly guys looking out of the windows, while waving their revolvers and another on the top with a semi automatic rifle in his hand.
And he might have been able to save his sandwich, if it wasn’t for the little boy playing a few feet away from him. Tugging the young child under his arm he dodged the car at the last second, jumping to the side.
The tables and chairs of the shop went flying through the air. And so was his extra cheesy double cheese and ham sandwich.
To say he was annoyed would have been an understatement. Wasting precious resources, endangering a child and taking away his snack? This turned serious really quick.
They were heading towards the city's bank.
Bringing the sobbing child over to it’s parents after checking if he was unhurt and accepting their thanks with a smile and a wave of his hand, he turned and headed for his newfound enemies of the day.
It took him not one, not two but exactly half a minute to make the bandits flip, shoot at him, blasting their own car in the process and emptying their magazines into the wall that he was hiding behind. After berating them for their reckless behaviors and letting them get him a new snack, they were taken into custody by the town’s sheriff.
Word spread fast in the small town and within half an hour he was celebrated in the saloon, drowning beer after beer with his new buddies and two really nice looking lady’s swooning around him.
A tie around his head, which he did not remember having there when the party started, he had stumbled out of the saloon, arms in arms with Marvin. Or Melvin. Or was this Viktor? His new best friend!
It was already dark. The day had passed and Vash needed to leave soon, before his bad luck caught up to him and some other kind of disaster hit the town. One he couldn’t stop as easily.
He was bringing Viktor or Melcom or Vincent towards what the slurring man was pointing at, assuming it to be his home. Vash was sneaking across the town's square when he started hearing the shouts from behind him, wondering where he went and starting to search for the gunman. After knocking at the door and leaving Marco with his not so happy wife, he started his walk back to the inn he was staying at.
A shabby looking house with even shabbier rooms and beds that were barely better than a rock. But neither did he need more nor did he deserve much of an upgrade. And the other sites to crash in this city were out of his budget anyway.
Before he could turn around the last corner on his way, he heard voices in front of the building. The women from before were there, wondering why such a skilled and pretty shot like himself was staying in this hutch. They wanted to take him back to the saloon and let him sleep there. In their company one might add..
Not in the mood to deal with them and already feeling a growing headache, he slipped back into the shadows of the night. It was an offer he would have loved to take in another life. A shame really.
And so he wandered around for a while, the chilling air of the night surrounding him. Maybe he should just take a moment to himself- he had been running from town to town without much of a break the last few months. He had heard some rumors back in November and tried to follow his new lead without much preparation.
It was the end of space year 0097 and he had picked up, that a certain Dr. William Conrad might still be alive and working with plants building his riches under a pseudonym. So he had set out in the direction of Octovern where a Plant had been saved by the hands of an incredibly talented specialist last year, who seemed to know just a tad too much about lost tech for him to be a normal man. It wasn’t the first time he had a lead like this - but it was his best till now.
The night might have been chilly, but the sky was quite the sight tonight. All five moons were visible to some degree and a worm swarm was glowing in the distance.
Vash decided to head for one of the rock formations just by the city and spent some time admiring the view.
Settling on a part of the cold stone, taking in the view in the opposite direction of the buildings.
He was almost dozing off, the tie still hanging over his face, when he saw a small spark.
As if the night sky decided that it could be even more mesmerizing, a shooting star flew over the sky, flashing and twinkling a little and then vanishing.
And then another. And another.
Shooting stars were rare. Normally the moons would shield the planet's atmosphere from most of them if they were not already gravitating towards the suns. To have all of them hanging in the sky and seeing the twinkling of those small rocks burning bright, while they were crashing onto Gunsmoke - had he seen something like this before in his long life?
Yes, yes he did.
His mind was wandering, torturing memories from the great fall flashing before his eyes. Falling ships, burning bodies screaming for their suffering to end.
It was branded into his mind for all of eternity. A pain he would endure.
Thoughts of the townspeople and their laughter suddenly appeared, cheering and praising him.
If only they knew-
The shower of sparks continued on, while Vash lost himself in his head.
Until a shooting star appeared right in front of him, that was brighter than any he had ever seen.
Its body and ray of light were tinted in a soft blue hue, letting the moons and stars appear dull in its wake. Sparks of color surrounded the night sky around it, barely visible and easily mist. But Vash saw and watched in awe.
Destructive thought pushed back into the farthest corner of his mind, he took in the sight before him.
What was this meteor made of? The way its color seemed to shift every second, breaking and forming the light around it? Some kind of diamond? He remembered how those would form light anew and left people in similar awe.
With his chest still hurting and and his eyes fixed on the wonder before his own eyes, he started to wish. A thing he had told children about - wishing upon a falling star, hoping for a brighter future. But never did the man do it for himself.
What could he wish for after all?
Absolution? Salvation?
A brighter future for plants and humans alike. A life for all of them on this deadly planet. Some kind of eternal peace?
He closed his eyes and wished for all of it.
And when he opened them up again, he was taken aback by how much closer the meteor had gotten. It had passed the atmosphere and its glow was almost blinding him.
With a squeak he stood and took off.
The falling star was heading directly towards him.
But running only did so much.
The impact behind him still reached his body and he was thrown head first right into the next dune.
It took a few tries to free his head while his tie was lost in the sand. Standing up again he shook his head, adjusting his hair and trying to get as much sand out of it as possible. Dusting off his coat as well, he turned around.
The rock formation was completely gone, but the crater itself was a lot smaller, than it should have been. It spanned only 100yarz, a meteor this size shouldn’t even have made it to the ground. There also weren’t any signs of fragments, that should have fallen all around him.
But all of this was forgotten, when he spotted the glowing center of the circle. It still sparkled and shifted in colors one could only imagine, illuminating the area around him.
Vash was drawn to it. And so he descended down into the crater, trying not to accidentally step into the still flickering flames upon the ground.
The light dimmed slowly.
And when the man reached its center, the glow was gone completely.
But no diamond or piece of metal from space lay before him.
Yet it still left him stunned and unable to move further.
It was a young woman instead.
She was laying on her back. Her straight silver hair was spread out on the ground around her. And if it wasn’t for the situation they found themselves in, she might as well have been peacefully sleeping.
He took the last few steps towards her and crouched down, checking her for any injuries. But there were none. She seemed to be totally fine with not even a single visible scratch. And while she was more or less clothed, the fine white fabric didn’t hide much of her slim body.
Contemplating what he should do in this weird scenario, he got a little closer to her, leaned over just a tiny bit and stretched out his hand to feel her pulse, when suddenly her eyes snapped open.
The girl inhaled sharp and deep, as if she had held her breath for minutes.
For a second she just stared up, then her head turned and she looked at him.
Her big green eyes widened further, her lips parted slightly.
And they just looked at each other for a moment, unable to move a muscle.
One moment became two.
And just as Vash had caught himself and started blinking rapidly, thinking of what to say, the girl on the ground took another deep breath-
And screamed.
“WHAAAAAAAA-!”
She pushed him with a force her small body shouldn’t possess and scrambled a few feet away from him, just to sit with her legs drawn close to her body and enclosing it in her arms. Her lips started quivering and the man knew she would start to cry any moment. Her orbs were trained on him in fear.
“Ahh~ I am sorry!”, he started, “I didn’t want to frighten you!” His trademark smile was back on his face, open hands raised upwards beside his head.
His words made it worse as she started trembling. Her hands gripping the burned sand around her lower body, trying to hold onto something. Anything.
“I- What-?“ At least she spoke the same language. He counted that as a win.
“Just concentrate on breathing for a sec, yeah?” An advice he had given hundreds of people in his life, while they were at the verge of a breakdown.
The girl blinked two times and then started breathing loudly through her mouth. For a second she seemed surprisingly collected - and then her tears started flowing anyway.
Her eyes wandered from his form for the first time, mustering the hole they were sitting in. Then her eyes shot upwards towards the sky and she looked even more distressed as she counted the moons above them. She turned around, searching, but seeing nothing new behind her, she quickly turned her attention back to Vash.
Her lips were quivering, when she muttered: “I don’t know what’s going on…” A soft voice, the perfect contrast to her scream from earlier.
“Well- I was just watching the sky when you…fell…?” He gestured wildly. How could he explain what he had just witnessed with her believing it and not panicking more?
“Like a shooting star-“ He really wasn’t good at this. “You almost hit me! Haha!~” Vash scratched the back of his head with one of his hands while laughing nervously. This was the weirdest thing.
The young woman looked like someone had just tried to hit her.
“Like a shooting star….?” At least the absurdity of the situation had made her stop crying for now.
“I was really just checking on you, when you woke up…” Nothing made sense.
She looked at her hands, then back towards Vash while shaking her head frantically.
“…how?” He almost didn’t catch that.
“Don’t ask me! I am just as confused as you are!”
Her eyebrows drawn together, she looked at the ground while thinking. Her hand started rubbing her sides - she must have been cold. No wonder. It was a rather chilling night and she had nothing on herself to keep her warm whatsoever. It was strange enough that the fabric surrounding her did not burn off, but right now there wasn’t really anything normal.
And then it occurred to him: she was not safe at the moment.
Half the town behind him was probably already asleep or drunk when he went up here, but the crash was not just extremely bright, but also loud enough to be heard for a few isles. It was only a matter of minutes before some townsfolk would appear at the edge of the crater.
And he wasn’t keen on finding out what would happen if they discovered a girl that fell from the sky. Sadly humans tended to do more harm than help when they didn’t understand what was going on.
“Mind if I help you stand up? We should really get you somewhere warm!” It wasn’t a lie, but it definitely didn’t fit the urgency in his voice.
“I guess-“, was all she could answer.
Vash then stood up and was in front of her crouching and trembling body within only three long strides of his, reaching out his hand for her to take.
She hesitated another second. Then she took it in her own and was lifted on her wobbly legs. Testing if they would work, she buried her bare feet in the sand. Seemingly happy with the result, she stretched her legs in front of her one after the other and took a step. Her being able to walk on her own was great news at least.
While she adjusted, he noticed her height. In a normal crowd Vash would hover above most heads, being taller than the usual man in these lands by the size of a head. Woman barely reached his shoulders, mostly not even his chest. But her? Without shoes she reached the tip of his nose. Seeing her so small and frightened on the ground, he would never have guessed that she was this tall-
Her hair was just past her shoulders in length and with the moons shining on it, the silver top of her head still looked to be glowing.
“Where to?”, the girl asked. She looked at him and tilted her head. What a cute gesture. Wait, had he started staring?
“Out of this hole first! There is a city nearby.” Vash gestured to the edge, where some rocks were still standing. Maybe they could give them some cover? At least until he was sure no one was trying to check on the site of the impact. It would be smart for the people to wait until sunrise…right?
When she didn’t start to walk and just continued to stare, he added: “Ladies first?” He raised his free hand and scratched the back of his head again. “So I can catch you if you trip?” Wait. His free hand?
And indeed: He was still holding her hand in his real one.
To make things even worse, he began to look down awkwardly - not really wanting to let go. And before his brain was working again and telling him to just drop it and act as cool as possible, the girl spoke up.
“I need both of my hands then.”
“Yeah! Sure!” He let it drop, as if he had just touched a hot pan. As pretty as the silver haired person in front of him was, this might not be the best place for a flirt.
Her face was a lot more controlled now, not showing what she was thinking at all. Instead she purposely raised one of her eyebrows, taunting him. He surely was an expert at making an ass of himself.
With one last glance at him, she turned around.
It was not an easy climb out of the crater. How did Vash get in so fast without losing his footing and rolling down? Or maybe he did and couldn’t remember because he hit his head? It did make sense. The blonde occupied his head with other random thoughts and mustered his left and right, just so he wouldn’t look right in front of him at the ascending woman.
And as if she had felt his current struggle, another snide remark fell.
“If you look at my ass, I will make sure you tumble the whole way back down. Savior or not.”
For someone who was absolutely terrified and at the verge of crying moments ago, she sure wasn't holding back now.
“I would never!” He exclaimed, adding a shocked gasp and holding one of his hands in front of his mouth for the effect.
Reaching the edge and climbing out she faced him at first, and he could see her mouth opening, ready to retort something. But she didn’t. Instead her eyes trailed further to the right, away from him and the hole in the ground.
Vash hurried up.
And then he saw the townspeople too. About a dozen of the were walking towards the pair with fast striddles. And while he knew, that they were just curious right now and wanted to look at whatever had fallen from the sky right in front of their homes, he did find some guns in their hands.
Within a split second, he decided to improvise. Not that he ever did anything else.
“Ahhhh! Good to see you guys!~” His best singsang voice would have to do. He laid a hand on the upper back of the girl beside him. She would have to forgive him for touching without asking. “I just found her! Seems like she was hit by some debris and fell down there! Ha!~” He mentioned downwards with his index finger. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice how nervous he was right now. “I will take her to the doc right away!~” He pushed her slightly and gave her a reassuring smile.
Hopefully the people wouldn’t ask questions-
A man he remembered to be friends with the local sheriff closed the distance between the group and themselves and mustered them.
“Won’t hold it against ya for sneaking away with a pretty lad like that.” The blond could feel her tense under his hand. She had caught on. “But I don’t think I have seen you around?” The older man turned his attention towards her.
“Uhm yeah. I just arrived today.” Well - she wasn’t lying.
“Hah! And already snatched the towns savior! Wish the girls back when I was young were like that!” His laugh sounded like he was choking on his spit. “Get her checked before you take her home, you casanova!”
Vash shared a quick laugh with the guy and they bid their goodbyes. The fact that the whole town was intoxicated and unable to think properly was making this a lot easier than he had thought. The mob had moved towards the edge, one of the guys he remembered drowning a glass of whiskey with rolled downwards. Another tried to help and tumbled in right after. Three women were betting who would be able to get out again first. No one cared for them right now. Good. Eventually there would be questions for her, but not tonight. He could figure something out after getting her somewhere to rest and warm up.
When they were a few yarz away from the bickering mass, the girl piped up.
“Casanova, eh? Wasn’t so off with my comment then?” A sly smile graced her lips, but she looked ahead.
“Well, what can I say? My dashing looks have won over the hearts of many fair maiden!” If it made her feel better, he would gladly play along. Walking in silence under tense circumstances wasn’t something he particularly liked.
“Must be quite the curse.” The girl brought the palm of her head over her heart. “Did you come out here to hide?” She was jesting, but it wasn’t that far from the truth. Not that she knew.
“I thought so. But it seems like beautiful woman just appear all around me out of thin air.~”
“Ah! So it is a recurring thing?”
“Yes. They fall for me all over.” The girl beside him snorted. It was good to see her loosen up a little. Vash watched her while they took the last few steps to the cities border.
“Are you feeling better?”
Her face fell slightly, but a soft smile was still gracing her features.
“Not really. Just trying to cope for now.”
“Thought so.” His steps slowed down while he was searching for the right words. “I will get you to a doctor for now. Just want to make sure that you don’t have a concussion or worse- “
“My head does indeed hurt-” Instinctively she rubbed her left temple with her fingers.
“Why didn’t you say so?” He had only been able to check for visible injuries. If he had known that she was in pain, he wouldn’t have let her walk the whole way-
“You didn’t ask.”
The man felt bad instantly. It should have been in the forefront of his mind as soon as she had calmed down a little.
“Sorry about that!”
“Don’t be.” For the first time since they had started walking, she looked up to him. “I can handle it. And you are-” The green-eyed woman stopped walking while her voice trailed off. She took a moment to think. Then suddenly her sparkling orbs gazed into his own, with an intensity that reminded him of the light he had wished upon earlier, as she spoke up again. “Thank you! Even if there isn’t much you can do… your presence really helps right now.” She paused and tilted her head, her eyebrows drew together slightly. “May I ask your name?”
“Oh! Sure! The name is Vash!” He was bewildered that he hadn’t introduced himself yet. “And helping is just what a man of love and peace like myself does!” Proudly he pointed at himself and remembered her calling him savior back in the crater. He blushed. He really didn’t do much till now and her words still made him feel good about himself?
“And what may I call you?”
She smiled and started to answer.
“I am- I- Uhm… Huh...”
Her eyes widened, and it looked like she was searching for something. She gasped for air, then let out a choked short laugh.
“What a great question!” She said.
The girl hid her face behind her hands and started shaking it.
“I think it’s Luna? But…” Still hiding herself, she peeked through her parted fingertips. “Yeah… uhm so… I can’t really remember…anything else?”
